ONE Championship's celebration of what Chairman Chatri Sityodtong describes as "real martial arts" has proven to be exciting and profitable.

Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship Founder and CEOCredit: ONE Championship

If you take a look at ONE Championship events, you quickly see the stellar presentation as well as the highly skilled warriors battling for glory. You also notice a heightened level of sportsmanship between the combatants. The combination has worked like a charm throughout Asia. ONE Championship has quickly become Asia's largest sports media property in less than 7 years.

At the helm of all of this growth and success is Sityodtong. As fruitful as ONE Championship has been in Asia, Sityodtong is still aware of MMA promotions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship and their biggest stars. We recently talked about the factors in ONE Championship's meteoric rise, Conor McGregor and the inevitable possibility of western expansion.

While Sityodtong acknowledges the UFC's obvious success and even its recent events in Asia, he understands his promotion offers a much different product. It's one he believes is far more accepted in Asia, and that's part of the reason ONE has grown so quickly. Clearly, the rise of digital platforms coincided well with the distribution of ONE Championship content.

Martin NguyenCredit: ONE Championship

"I think there are a few factors where we got really lucky," Sityodtong said as we spoke via phone just a little over a week before the promotion's Iron Will event on March 24. "We created viral content that showed off Asia's greatest cultural treasure, which is martial arts in an authentic format. MMA (mixed martial arts) is kind of an Americanized version of what martial is. Real martial arts is much more about the way of the warrior. It's about integrity. It's about humility, honor, respect, and discipline. It's about the values of martial arts which is obviously very important here in Asia."

ONE Championship has sought to unite Asia through the commonality of martial arts.

FILE - In this July 7, 2016, file photo, Dana White, center, stands between Nate Diaz, left, and Conor McGregor during a news conference in Las Vegas for UFC 202. Diaz beat McGregor by submission in the second round of a welterweight bout March 5 at UFC 196, ending McGregor's 15-fight winning streak. McGregor had asked for a quick rematch and it was scheduled during the landmark UFC 200 card in July, but McGregor announced he was retiring during the spring. He later relented, but by then UFC had dropped him from that card. Saturday's rematch was announced in June. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

"I saw how every region of the world had a sport that represented it, and Asia had nothing. I thought there must be a way to celebrate the individual martial arts from the variety of cultures. The term MMA has a negative connotation in Asia. In the sense that it's all about bloodsport, swearing and people who throw water bottles in press conferences. That works in America, but not in Asia."

He was obviously making a reference to the incident that took place with Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. I asked Sityodtong what he would do if a fighter on his roster behaved that way.

"I would fire that person. I don't care how much money this person brings. I think very deeply about my role as the CEO of a major Asian sports media property and the impact on kids in our society. If all of our heroes start swearing, being disrespectful and start talking about people's moms, then that's what our children are going to emulate. I want to create heroes, people kids can put on a poster in their bedrooms. Georges St-Pierre is someone I respect. He's someone who I would be fine with if my kid wanted to put a poster of him on their wall, but you can't say that about 99 percent of their roster. So, yeah, if anyone behaved in that manner, I would kick them out."

"In 6.5 years, we've never had a single controversy. It seems like every other week there's a scandal. Somebody is getting arrested for something or Cyborg is getting into a fight with another fighter at the UFC retreat. We've had zero. It's just different styles. Some people will like that and others will not."

Even though he disapproves of many of the UFC's practices, would Sityodtong be open to a cross-promotional event with the organization?

"100 percent. I would love it and I invite the UFC to put their world champions against our champions. I would love it."

What happens if Ben Askren fought McGregor?

"Askren beats Mcgregor like he's a little child. I think it would be very fun to have these matchups."

Is there a market in the western world for your brand of martial arts?

"Absolutely. We've talked with a number of broadcasters and we've had some very serious discussions with some people–even in the United States. People are already seeing the difference in our approach."

What about a ONE Championship video game? Have you thought about that?

"Yes, we have. We've been approached by several manufacturers. It will happen, it's just a matter of priorities. We just launched a new mobile app. Right now, we're most focused on our mobile app and OTT platforms. It won't happy this year, but if it happens, it'll probably be next year. We just have to figure out how we want to approach it."

The size and growth of ONE Championship are truly impressive. The ambition and charisma of the promotion's leader make you feel as though there's nothing he and it can't conquer. Perhaps its greatest test will be establishing a footprint in the U.S. Even if that never happens, ONE Championship and Sityodtong have already made a significant mark on the global sports landscape.

I write about sports and video games. I began my career with Bleacher Report in 2010 and I'm now a Forbes Contributor as well as a YouTuber. I've been blessed to make a living discussing things I'd talk about for free.